Multivalent Polyaspartamide Cross-Linker for Engineering Cell-Responsive Hydrogels with Degradation Behavior and Tunable Physical Properties

Abstract

Hydrogels possess favorable physical properties ideally suited for various biotechnology applications. To tailor to specific needs, a number of modification strategies have been employed to tune their properties. Herein, a multifunctional polymeric cross-linker based on polyaspartamide is developed, which allows for the facile adjustment of the type and number of reactive functional groups to fit different reaction schemes and control the physical properties of the hydrogels. The amine-based nucleophiles containing desired functional groups are reacted with polysuccinimide to synthesize polyaspartamide cross-linkers. The cross-linking density and the concurrent change in mechanical properties of the resulting hydrogels are controlled in a wide range only with the degree of substitution. This multivalency of the polyaspartamide linkers also induced the degradation of hydrogels by the unreacted functional groups on polyaspartamide involved in the hydrolysis. Furthermore, the polyaspartamide cross-linker conjugated with cell-recognition molecules via the same conjugation mechanism (i.e., nucleophilic substitution) render the hydrogels cell-responsive without the need of additional processing steps. This versatility of polyaspartamide-based cross-linker is expected to provide an efficient and versatile route to engineer hydrogels with controllable properties for biomedical applications.